


This Different Life

by PrintDust



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 07:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2059263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrintDust/pseuds/PrintDust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Come on, sweetheart," Lori called over her shoulder, settling the basket of laundry onto her hip as she turned around. Her small daughter toddled along behind her, her little feet protected from the worn prison floors by a pair of knitted booties, made with love from Aunt Carol. The baby looked up with her earthy eyes that matched her mother's and let out a grunt that ended with a small giggle, her mouth twisted into a wobbly smile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Different Life

"Come on, sweetheart," Lori called over her shoulder, settling the basket of laundry onto her hip as she turned around. Her small daughter toddled along behind her, her little feet protected from the worn prison floors by a pair of knitted booties, made with love from Aunt Carol. The baby looked up with her earthy eyes that matched her mother's and let out a grunt that ended with a small giggle, her mouth twisted into a wobbly smile.

Lori felt her heart seize and she slowly lowered the laundry basket to the floor as she crouched down. "Well, aren't you all kind of sass today… where'd you get that from? You sound like a little animal," she put her hand out and waited patiently for Judith to stumble her way over, still unpracticed and unsteady on her feet.

The baby's fingers found her mother's outstretched ones and she closed a much larger index finger into her palm. The loss of concentration made Judith waiver and Lori used her unoccupied had to steady the small girl.

"I don't know about this walking thing," Lori lifted the baby to her chest and got to her feet again, securing Judith on her hip. "Pretty soon you'll be quick enough to wander off like your big brother…" Smoothing one hand over Judith's cheek, she tucked an errant sandy ringlet behind a seashell ear. Judith followed the motion with her head and laid it down on her mother's shoulder, her feet drumming loosely against the hip opposite of the one she was propped up on.

The door behind Lori opened, signalling someone's entrance into the block, and she turned in time to find her husband and son entering, their arms heavy with firewood. "Speak of the devil," she shifted the baby higher and secured her with both arms as the rest of her family approached her.

"Yes! Clean pants!" Carl commented enthusiastically, eyeing the basket. "I'm gonna change now."

Lori's felt maternal pride swell inside her. The aching back from crouching over a basin and the raw skin on her fingers from scrubbing were well worth it for the satisfaction of knowing that she was providing for her son in whatever way she could. "Nah uh," she shook her head, her voice low. "Shower first."

Carl groaned and griped under his breath about cold water. Turning away from the pre-teen, Lori's eyes sought her husband's as he whistled, indicating with his chin for Carl to come closer. When he was within reach he eased his load of wood onto the top of Carl's, almost blocking the boy's eyes. Arching his back, Carl picked his way slowly toward the common room where they had vented a small iron wood-burning stove.

Lori watched him go for a moment before Rick's voice pulled her attention away. "Need some help with that?" he nodded to the basket at her feet.

She glanced between the basket and the baby in her arms before nodding, offering him an appreciative smile. "I guess the walk from the laundry room tuckered her out," she mused, pressing a kiss to the curve of her sleeping daughter's forehead.

Rick grunted in agreement, picking up the basket.

"So that's where she gets it from," Lori fell into step beside him as they made their way in the same direction their son had gone.

"What?" Rick asked, keeping his eyes on the floor ahead of them.

"She sounds like a… bear cub sometimes," Lori chuckled softly, nudging his shoulder with her own. "I love you, but, I do hope she winds up with my communication skills."

One corner of her husband's mouth twisted up into a small smile and he peered at their daughter out of the corner of his eye. "I love you too," he muttered, his voice raw. His adam's apple dipped as he swallowed before looking ahead of them again.

A thin sheen of tears glassed over her eyes at his words and she was instantly hungry to hear him say them again. They had only begun sharing a bed again a few weeks before, and though there was still an unmistakable distance between them - it felt like they had finally stopped drifting apart.

Nodding, Lori blinked back her tears and pressed a chaste kiss to his shoulder before they parted ways. Stepping inside the living area, she sent a quick nod to Carol across the room and slipped into the cell she shared with Rick and Judith. The baby grunted in her sleep as she was lowered onto the bottom bunk, her limbs floppy and loose. Lori covered her with a thin sheet and kissed the constellation of freckles on her button nose before heading out to make sure Carl hadn't decided to skip his shower.


End file.
